NBA D-League preview: Canton Charge at Springfield Armor

Preview of Friday's game between the Canton Charge and Springfield Armor.

Josh Weir CantonRep.com sports writer @jweirREP

n WHEN Tonight, 7

n WHERE MassMutual Center; Springfield, Mass.

n RECORDS Charge 12-7, Armor 5-14

n CHARGE PLAYERS TO WATCH

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Stats

Gilbert Brown SF 6-6 215 12.9 ppg, .536 3pt

Jorge Gutierrez PG 6-3 195 13.9 ppg, 6.5 apg

Kevin Jones F 6-8 260 16.4 ppg, 7.8 rpg

n ARMOR PLAYERS TO WATCH

Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Stats

Dennis Horner F 6-9 230 15.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg

D. Johnson-Odom G 6-3 212 21.5 ppg, .897 FT

Willie Reed F 6-10 220 13.2 ppg, 8.8 rpg

n NOTABLE The Charge swept back-to-back games from the Armor in Canton, Nov. 29-30. Jorge Gutierrez averaged 20.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 2.5 steals while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor in the two wins. He registered the second triple-double in Charge history in the Nov. 30 game. ... Canton is 3-3 in the midst of its eight straight games away from home. ... The Charge are a half game up on Fort Wayne for first place in the East Division. ... Springfield's five wins are tied for the second fewest in the D-League. The Armor entered Thursday last in the league in per-game averages for free throws made and attempted,

3-pointers made and attempted, rebounds and assists. They were second to last in scoring (97.2). ... The Charge allow a league-low 97.8 points a game and lead the league in defensive rebounding percentage (75.9). ... Cavs rookie Carrick Felix is assigned to the Charge. The 6-foot-6 wing has averaged 9.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in three games with the Charge. ... The Charge expect leading rebounder and second-leading scorer Arinze Onuaku to return after missing the last six games because of turf toe. ... The Armor acquired Darius Johnson-Odom on Jan. 3. Among his six games with Springfield is a 41-point outburst against Iowa on Jan. 9. ... After shooting 28.0 percent from 3-point range (58-for-207) their first 12 games, the Charge are shooting 42.1 percent (48-for-114) the past seven games. ... Inserted in the starting lineup the past six games, Canton's Gilbert Brown is averaging 18.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.2 rebounds. He is 14-of-22 from 3-point range and 26-of-28 from the foul line. Brown has scored in double figures in seven straight games. ... The Charge have three players in the top six of the D-League in free-throw percentage: Brown (third, 90.3), Antoine Agudio (fourth, 90.0) and Bo Spencer (sixth, 88.9). ... The Charge lead the all-time series with Springfield 8-5 and have won three of the five matchups at MassMutual Center.

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